4 ms·

I 50% agree with this, and 50% can't help notice (in the US) restaurants are full, it is common to have a recent iPhone, and 85% of vehicles on the roads are ne

I 50% agree with this, and 50% can't help notice (in the US) restaurants are full, it is common to have a recent iPhone, and 85% of vehicles on the roads are newish SUVs. Many people are scraping by on minimal income and have minimal expenses. Many others are scraping by because their spending is out of whack with income. Of course, reining in spending doesn't address the societal stagnant income problem. It only helps an individual not find themselves in a desperate situation because of job loss.

pc86 9y ago
Come on now. Eating out a dozen meals a week, a new $800 phone ever 2 years and a 2-3 year old X5 are inalienable rights.
bluedino 9y ago
>> and 85% of vehicles on the roads are newish SUVs. Average age of vehicles on road hits 11.6 years in the United State, which is a new record. When you have low/under-employment people aren't rushing out to buy new vehicles as they were in the past.
- brookside 9y ago
  That is a good stat. I also wonder what the median is (although there probably aren't THAT many vintage/classic cars skewing the average).
- rhizome 9y ago
  > Average age of vehicles on road hits 11.6 years in the United State This is like saying, "How bad could the favelas be? Brazil's population density is 64ppl/sq mi."
s73ver 9y ago
Recent iPhones are cheap. You get them with the contract. And for most carriers, choosing not to get the subsidized phone doesn't affect the monthly cost of service. You'll need a citation for the 85% of vehicles are newish SUVs stat.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- brookside 9y ago
  You are still paying the $800 for that iPhone - it's built into the contract. There are plans that much much less without a subsidy. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/11/16/republic-wireless-old-phone-new-phone-and-a-tempting-competitor/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/11/16/republic-wireless-...
  - s73ver 9y ago
    Not many. And in the US, if you choose not to take the subsidy on your plan, you don't get a lower price. You can switch carriers, but a lot of those discount carriers suck. So if you're going to be charged for the subsidy anyway, best to get the best phone you can, if for nothing but future proofing.
falsedan 9y ago
> (in the US) in SF, maybe
maccard 9y ago
My phone contract costs me 25 pounds a month for an iPhone 6s (new at the time). With an older iPhone, that would have been closer to 15 a month. (Which incidentally is the sim only price of the plan I'm on). Regarding vehicles. There's almost certainly a bias there. I'm on foot at the moment, and looking at the main road in front of me, the majority of the vehicles are 6-8 years old small to medium care, with a more modern saloon being more common than an SUV. However many people rely on cars, and unless you're clued in it's easy to overbuy. If my car broke down today and i needdd it to get to work, my options are (broadly) buy an 800 pound banger, buy a 3-5k 5-6 year old vehicle or buy a new vehicle. If I have. O money, then buying an 800 pound banger isn't an option. I don't know where I'd go to get a loan for less than a thousand pounds, other than a payday loan company, or possibly a credit card. Meanwhile, I can walk into my bank ask for 5000 pounds for a car loan and leave with the cash in my account, with no deposit, no security. Funnily enough when you look at the repayments of one of those loans, they come out at near identical to a PCP (or PCH, not sure which) lease agreement on a brand new car, probably a model or two better than the one I could buy with a loan.

pc86 9y ago

Come on now. Eating out a dozen meals a week, a new $800 phone ever 2 years and a 2-3 year old X5 are inalienable rights.

bluedino 9y ago

>> and 85% of vehicles on the roads are newish SUVs. Average age of vehicles on road hits 11.6 years in the United State, which is a new record. When you have low/under-employment people aren't rushing out to buy new vehicles as they were in the past.

brookside 9y ago
That is a good stat. I also wonder what the median is (although there probably aren't THAT many vintage/classic cars skewing the average).
rhizome 9y ago
> Average age of vehicles on road hits 11.6 years in the United State This is like saying, "How bad could the favelas be? Brazil's population density is 64ppl/sq mi."

s73ver 9y ago

Recent iPhones are cheap. You get them with the contract. And for most carriers, choosing not to get the subsidized phone doesn't affect the monthly cost of service. You'll need a citation for the 85% of vehicles are newish SUVs stat.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
brookside 9y ago
You are still paying the $800 for that iPhone - it's built into the contract. There are plans that much much less without a subsidy. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/11/16/republic-wireless-old-phone-new-phone-and-a-tempting-competitor/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/11/16/republic-wireless-...
- s73ver 9y ago
  Not many. And in the US, if you choose not to take the subsidy on your plan, you don't get a lower price. You can switch carriers, but a lot of those discount carriers suck. So if you're going to be charged for the subsidy anyway, best to get the best phone you can, if for nothing but future proofing.

falsedan 9y ago

> (in the US) in SF, maybe

maccard 9y ago

My phone contract costs me 25 pounds a month for an iPhone 6s (new at the time). With an older iPhone, that would have been closer to 15 a month. (Which incidentally is the sim only price of the plan I'm on). Regarding vehicles. There's almost certainly a bias there. I'm on foot at the moment, and looking at the main road in front of me, the majority of the vehicles are 6-8 years old small to medium care, with a more modern saloon being more common than an SUV. However many people rely on cars, and unless you're clued in it's easy to overbuy. If my car broke down today and i needdd it to get to work, my options are (broadly) buy an 800 pound banger, buy a 3-5k 5-6 year old vehicle or buy a new vehicle. If I have. O money, then buying an 800 pound banger isn't an option. I don't know where I'd go to get a loan for less than a thousand pounds, other than a payday loan company, or possibly a credit card. Meanwhile, I can walk into my bank ask for 5000 pounds for a car loan and leave with the cash in my account, with no deposit, no security. Funnily enough when you look at the repayments of one of those loans, they come out at near identical to a PCP (or PCH, not sure which) lease agreement on a brand new car, probably a model or two better than the one I could buy with a loan.